BJP-AJSU alliance wins magic number in Jharkhand

Ranchi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) alliance attained the magic figure of 42 to win a majority in Jharkhand for the first time but the other two tie-ups -- Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM)-Trinamool Congress and Congress-Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-Janata Dal United (JDU) -- failed miserably in recently concluded Assembly elections.

The BJP-AJSU party and the LJP had a pre-poll alliance. As per the agreement the BJP fought majority 72 of the seats, while the AJSU contested eight and the LJP got one for the 81 members in Jharkhand Assembly.

The BJP won 37 seats out of its share of seats, more than the double it won in the previous polls (eighteen), while the AJSU won five out of eight seats it contested and LJP failed to win its only seat.

In the 2009 election, the BJP had won 18 seats, so this time it more than doubled its tally.

AJSU had also won five in the 2009 election, before increasing its tally to six following a win in a by-poll. Its tally reduced to the original figure after resignation by Naveen Jaiswal, who retained the Hatia seat on Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik-JVM) ticket.

JVM chief Babulal Marandi had an alliance with Trinamool Congress and as per the tie-up JVM (P) contested 73 seats, out of which it won eight while its alliance partner TMC failed to open an account though it contested eight seats.

The third alliance which fought in the state election was the grand alliance comprising the Congress, RJD and JD(U).

The Congress was allotted the majority of the seats by the alliance but it could only win six. In the last Assembly polls the Congress had 14 MLAs.

The RJD, which had won five seats in the 2009 Assembly elections, drew blank this time and the JD(U), which had two previously, also doomed this time.

The JMM, which did not entered into any alliance this time, and contested 79 seats and won 19, improving its previous record of 18 won in 2009 election.

Though the BJP-AJSU party alliance won absolute majority in the Jharkhand by winning 42 seats, two of their heavyweight candidates lost the election.

Heavyweight candidates of other parties like the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) and Jai Bharat Samanta Party also lost the election though JVM(P) won eight seats and JBSP won one.

Three-times Jharkhand Chief Minister and BJP Jharkhand heavyweight leader Arjun Munda lost the election from his pocket borough Kharasawan seat by over 11,000 votes to his JMM rival Dashrath Gagrai.

Munda, Chief Minister of the state from March 18, 2003 to March 2, 2005, again from March 12, 2005 to September 14, 2006 and from September 11, 2010 to January 18, 2013, was polled 60,036 votes while Gagrai secured 72,002.

He had also represented Lok Sabha from Jamshedpur before he took over the reins for the third time.

BJP's alliance partner AJSU party won five seats but party chief Kumar Sudhesh Mahto lost from his home turf of Silli to JMM rival Amit Kumar after representing three times.

Mahto, who had been deputy chief minister in the previous BJP and JMM-led governments, could get only 50,007 votes while Kumar who won secured 79,747.

Meanwhile, JVM(P) president and Jharkhand's first chief minister Babulal Marandi lost from both the two seats he contested---Dhanwar and Giridih.